III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 246 

To express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions and performance 

of the United States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane Katrina. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2005 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. 

STEVENS, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. LOTT, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) submitted 

the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

To express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions 

and performance of the United States Coast Guard in 

responding to Hurricane Katrina. 

Whereas the United States Coast Guard has been 

charged by Congress with missions central to protecting the lives and well-being of individuals and 

communities in the United States, including protecting homeland security, conducting search and rescue of lives in danger, protecting marine environments from pollution, maintaining maritime safety 

and aids to navigation, enforcing Federal fishing 

laws, and intercepting illegal drugs and migrants before they reach our shores; 
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Whereas the Coast Guard anticipated the potential for 

significant loss of life and property as Hurricane 

Katrina approached Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and made landfall on August 29, 2005, and, in 

advance of the storm, relocated its personnel, vessels, 

and aircraft out of harm’s way; 

Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 

4 hurricane with winds reaching 175 miles per hour 

and massive storm surges, the combination of which 

left a trail of devastation unprecedented on United 

States soil, as it leveled countless homes, businesses, 

and other structures, displaced millions of people 

from their communities, and otherwise made coastal 

urban and rural areas unliveable; 

Whereas the Coast Guard immediately deployed nearly 

1,000 personnel, including captains, crew, pilots, rescue swimmers, pollution response teams, and other 

specialists and reservists, from stations all over the 

country, to coastal areas affected by the hurricane, 

for a total regional force size of approximately 3,619 

personnel; 

Whereas Coast Guard personnel who had never personally worked together before began to work as teams 

to conduct and coordinate search and rescue operations while Hurricane Katrina continued to bear 

down on the central Gulf of Mexico shoreline; 

Whereas the Coast Guard rescued or evacuated 33,544 

individuals as of September 21, 2005, a number that 

represents eight times the number of lives saved by 

the Coast Guard in an average year; 
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Whereas three Coast Guard pollution response Strike 

Teams responded to 1,129 pollution incidents as of 

September 20, 2005, which include total discharges 

of more than 7 million gallons of oil, unknown 

amounts of sewage, and unknown quantities of other 

toxic chemicals, and the Coast Guard has contained 

or otherwise closed 426 of these cases; 

Whereas Coast Guard buoy tenders have responded to 

964 discrepancies in buoys and other aids to navigation and have restored 39 of 48 critical aids to navigation as of September 21, 2005; 

Whereas the costs of responding to Hurricane Katrina 

have depleted the Coast Guard’s operations and 

maintenance budget for fiscal year 2005 and are rapidly depleting its budget for fiscal year 2006, and the 

Coast Guard’s costs associated with this hurricane 

are anticipated to exceed $500 million; 

Whereas the Coast Guard performed its hurricane response missions largely with outdated legacy assets, 

increasing the wear and tear on these assets while 

foregoing regularly scheduled maintenance activities 

in the interest of sustaining its surge in life-saving 

operations; 

Whereas the Coast Guard already conducts its missions 

with the 40th oldest fleet of the 42 nations with 

Coast Guard or naval fleets; 

Whereas the Coast Guard’s program, known as Deepwater, for modernizing its fleet of vessels and aircraft, is vital for increasing the capabilities in performing its missions in the face of ever-increasing 

natural and human threats; 
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Whereas the Deepwater program requires sustained Federal funding commitments in order for the citizens of 

the United States to realize the benefits of the Coast 

Guard having state-of-the-art vessels, aircraft, technologies, and interoperable communication equipment; 

Whereas in addition to covering operation and maintenance costs of a rapidly aging fleet, the Coast Guard 

needs to rebuild several Coast Guard facilities in 

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, including Station Gulfport which was completely destroyed and 

where personnel are now working in trailers amidst 

the ruins of that station; 

Whereas the Coast Guard needs a strong Federal funding 

commitment to ensure that all of its unexpected expenditures during its response to Katrina are reimbursed; 

Whereas more than 700 Coast Guard personnel stationed 

in the Gulf region lost their homes and all personal 

property and are now living on overcrowded Coast 

Guard vessels and in makeshift shelters; 

Whereas before, during, and after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, Coast Guard personnel exhibited determination and a full commitment to their missions, 

and the Coast Guard has proven to be one of the 

most resourceful and capable services in the United 

States government; 

Whereas before, during, and after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, Coast Guard personnel performed their 

missions with the highest level of bravery and selfsacrifice, and their effectiveness in performing their 
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missions is unparalleled in the United States government; 

Whereas the Coast Guard has an operational and command structure that allowed it to quickly take a leadership role in saving lives, without waiting for instruction or permission to act; 

Whereas the Coast Guard’s operational and command 

structure continues to serve as a model for other 

agencies that need to respond quickly to large-scale 

natural and man-made disasters; and 

Whereas the Coast Guard’s effective leadership in responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and 

the appointment of Vice Admiral Thad Allen as the 

primary Federal officer in charge of this response, is 

helping to restore the public’s confidence in the Federal response effort: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, by the Senate, That it is the sense of the 

2 Senate that— 

3 (1) the United States Coast Guard should re4 ceive Congress’s highest commendation for its tre5 mendous and highly effective response to the events 

6 surrounding Hurricane Katrina; 

7 (2) the United States Congress should commit 

8 to providing the Coast Guard with the resources it 

9 needs to modernize and maintain its fleet of vessels 

10 and aircraft; and 

11 (3) the Administration should ensure that the 

12 Coast Guard receives sufficient funding to cover its 
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1 unexpected operational and capital costs associated 

2 with Hurricane Katrina. 

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